In Europe, amid discussions about sending troops to Ukraine to guarantee security, they also want to consider alternative options.
Reuters writes about this.
European countries face political and logistical constraints on sending peacekeepers to Ukraine, as well as the prospect of opposition from Russia and the United States to their plans. Although Britain and France have been working for weeks on a plan to send peacekeepers to Ukraine to secure a future ceasefire, diplomats doubt that this is the most likely option.
“They are taking a step back from ground troops and trying to rethink their actions towards something more sensible,” said an unnamed European diplomat.
Another diplomat noted that “when Ukraine was in a more advantageous position, the idea of sending troops was attractive”, but because of the US position, it no longer looks that way.
However, as Reuters points out, the initiative has not yet been canceled. In addition, individual countries can send their own troops to Ukraine.
The Coalition of the Willing summit will begin in Paris on March 27. In particular, they will discuss Ukraineʼs military reinforcement to deter future attacks, ways to monitor the ceasefire at sea, and attacks on energy infrastructure.
Some European allies are reluctant to send peacekeeping forces without solid the US guarantees and an international mandate. They are concerned about funding, manpower and equipment shortages, and ultimately the prospect of going to war with Russia.
Even if European countries do not plan to send large numbers of their troops to Ukraine, they can still help. For example, they can provide support to the forces already in Ukraine — in particular, if some kind of peace agreement is concluded and supported by the UN. Europe can also strengthen its troops in countries neighboring Ukraine, for example in Romania. In particular, this concerns the possibility of increasing NATO forces already present in Eastern Europe — these are the so-called Enhanced Forward Presence (EFP) units, which strengthen NATOʼs eastern borders and deter potential aggression.
Peacekeeping troops in Ukraine
After the US and Russia negotiated to end the war in Ukraine without the participation of Europe and Kyiv, an emergency meeting of EU leaders was called in France. One of the key issues was the sending of troops to Ukraine to monitor the ceasefire. This was the main argument of the evening.
French President Emmanuel Macron has proposed deploying a European peacekeeping force behind the future demarcation line in Ukraine, rather than directly on it. Germany, Italy, Spain and Poland immediately opposed the idea. In return, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said his country was ready to deploy troops to Ukraine and support the peace agreement with “boots on the ground and planes in the sky”.
«Babel'»
The Commander-in-Chief of the Swiss Armed Forces Thomas Süssli said he could send troops for a future peacekeeping mission in Ukraine if requested and the government is not against it. Irish Prime Minister Michaël Martin said his country was also ready to send peacekeepers to Ukraine for post-war security. Denmark is also ready for this, as is Australia, as noted by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. Belgian Prime Minister Bart de Wever believes it is logical for Brussels to send troops to Ukraine. Sweden does not rule out such a possibility. Lithuania has also agreed to this.
Meanwhile, the Bulgarian parliament has adopted a declaration that the Bulgarian Armed Forces will not participate in hostilities in Ukraine. And in Romania, they have admitted that they could become a transit center for troops for Western peacekeeping forces in Ukraine, although the parliament does not support this position of interim President Iliye Bologyan.
Bloomberg, citing sources, writes that Turkey could deploy its peacekeeping forces in Ukraine, but will not do so unless it is involved in all consultations and preparations for the formation of the peacekeeping mission.
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